The field hospital in Gaza, built by the United Arab Emirates, is suffering serious consequences from the collapse of local health systems
Lama Ali Hassan Alloush and his family followed orders to leave the northern Gaza Strip and seek refuge in the south. But then her shelter was attacked and she lost her right leg. (Photo: Scott McWhinnie/CNN) Lama Ali Hassan Alloush and his family followed orders to leave the northern Gaza Strip and seek refuge in the south. But then her shelter was attacked and she lost her right leg. (Photo: Scott McWhinnie/CNN) Lama Ali Hassan Alloush and his family followed orders to leave the northern Gaza Strip and seek refuge in the south. But then their animal shelter was attacked. He is now in hospital and his right leg has been amputated.
“The world doesn’t listen to us,” he said. “Nobody cares about us, we have been dying from bombing for more than 60 days and nobody has done anything.” She is being treated at a field hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, set up by the government of the United Arab Emirates. It was quickly converted into a football stadium, but its staff and state-of-the-art facilities make its 150 beds highly desirable.
Treating trauma victims is fundamental to the work of doctors, but in this mission called “Operation Gallant Knight 3,” they also see the consequences of the collapse of local health systems and the poor, overcrowded conditions this causes. Infectious diseases and other issues affecting communities.
“Someone came out with a head wound and maggots coming out of the wound,” said the hospital's medical director, Dr. Abdallah Al-Naqbi. “We cannot explain what environment they were exposed to and from a medical perspective I cannot explain how dirty this situation was. Even our surgeon was surprised.”
Within 15 minutes of CNN reaching the hospital, a loud bang from a nearby airstrike was heard. The doctors didn't even bat an eyelid. “This is real life,” Al-Naqbi said, adding that they hear at least 20 attacks every day. “I think we’ve gotten used to it.”
Soon a man and a 13-year-old boy arrived in a wheelchair, both of whose limbs had been amputated by the bombing. The notes given by the paramedics were stained with blood. Crews worked quickly to replace the bandages that were being used as makeshift tourniquets.
“Not a single patient came to me with a proper tourniquet,” Al-Naqbi explained, explaining that proper hemostasis is critical to saving lives.
There is almost silence inside the hospital and the organized staff efficiently cares for its patients, in wards, intensive care units and operating rooms. But war is always present. The Israeli military says it has struck more than 22,000 targets in Gaza – an enclave just 40 kilometers long and 11 kilometers wide – since October 7, surpassing anything seen in Gaza in terms of intensity and ferocity modern warfare has experienced so far.
Read more about a CNN team's visit to a field hospital in the southern Gaza Strip.